Olivia’s Story

I struggled with how I would approach the transparency of my #fibroid surgery journey. Growing up in the hood taught me not to show vulnerability as it could be used against you. Growing up West Indian taught me not to share your business with the world.

But I knew I NEED to share it with other black women who suffer(ed) as well as people who are unaware of what #Fibroids is, and how COMMON it is amongst Black’s women (80% of BW will have them by age 50).

Fibroids has affected my body for over 12 years and destroyed my health slowly for the past 5 years. Heavy periods that needed adult diapers to be worn because pads weren’t enough. Losing the amount of blood a gun shot wound victim would (MONTHLY). Shrinking into a shell of myself out of embarrassment and shame. Never wanting to date because that would lead to intimacy, having to explain this disorder that affects you daily. Skipping out on social events because you don’t know if your period may “attack”.

That then turned to severe anemia that turned to months of illness, fatigue, severe depression, as well as 4 blood transfusions in the past 2 years. My blood count was so low, doctors were baffled that my vital organs hadn’t shut down.

Fast forward to surgery, EIGHTY FIBROIDS were removed from my 5’3”, 132 lbs. body. My surgeon, said in her 30 years of performing the procedure, she’s never removed so many in a single Myomectomy.

Watching that photo of all those small tumors that were removed from my body I realized that was my body manifesting all the stress/anxiety I’ve built up for over 12 years. Not loving myself enough to find healthier ways to alleviate stress and vibrate higher when emotional trauma presented itself.

My fellow sisters, who suffer from this: we need to be kinder to our minds and spirits in the way we speak to ourselves and handle stress. I believe fibroids are an ancestral predisposition that we black women have to break the generational trauma with doing the spiritual work.